WWotWW - Chapter 3 - Person of Interest

Second side story chapter of the day. This chapter is rough, still have reivew it for second draft, but managed to get two diff chapters done today... hopefully I can carry that through to TBoB tomorrow.

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As soon as the Sheriff stepped away I slipped into the nearest alley and rested my head against the wall. It didn’t matter if it looked suspicious, apparently I was a person of interest anyways, the relative darkness helped my headache and I needed time to think.

I didn’t think I did anything exceptionally suspicious since I came to town, not while I was outside anyways, which meant the sheriff was always this suspicious of everyone or… I blinked, could it be the kids? Was capturing a spell caster so important that they heightened security? Why?

It didn’t make a ton of sense to my pain-addled mind, but it made more sense than the sheriff threatening random people. Unfortunately that meant I couldn’t investigate without raising a ton of red-flags, and probably getting myself arrested. Although that would get me closer to the kids, it would probably get me killed in the long run.

While I stood there, struggling to figure out what to do next, the shrill scream of a steam whistle echoed through the town. It was so loud that it triggered my headache, nearly sending me to my knees, and completely broke my concentration. I was so upset that I stuck my head out of the alley to see what was going on.

I expected to see a regular passenger train, but what was pulling up to the station was something else entirely. The engine was an extremely modern model, which proudly sported the Graves livery. I squinted slightly, I wasn’t an expert but it almost looked like it had an extra layer of steel around the vital parts, like they were expecting trouble. Behind the engine were a half dozen train cars. I hesitated to call them either passenger or cargo cars, because they didn’t look like either. At first I thought they were armored cars, because the entire side was covered in steel, but once the train came to a complete stop the entire side of each car lowered, becoming a ramp that led up to some sort of shop front. 

Once I saw that, I just stared for a moment. The entire thing seemed a little absurd to me.

I must have been gawking for quite a while, because one of the nearby women stepped up, a half smile on her face. “First time seeing a company train?” she asked.

“Yeah, we don’t have them back east,” I replied, turning away from the train. “It’s uhhh… really something.”

“They’re the pride of the Graves company and the lifeline of the west,” the woman continued. “You should check it out if you want anything, it’ll be a while before they come back.”

I blinked slowly, then attempted to put on a half convincing smile. “I’ll do that,” I said.

That seemed to be enough to placate the woman, who smiled back, then ran off towards the train. I just continued staring at the slowly growing lines, “Lifeline of the west, huh? That’s one way of looking at it,” I muttered. “I call it forced fucking reliance.”

I shook my head, and pushed myself away from the wall, intending to head back to my hotel room when something on the train caught my eye. A flash of gold from the back of the train.

My eyes locked on the area hoping that what I saw was just a figment of my imagination, but when I saw a pair of golden masked individuals leave the caboose, my blood went cold. They were completely covered from head to toe, hiding not only their identity, but even their gender. They were wearing thick black leather overcoats, hoods, gloves and boots, despite the heat, and underneath I could see flashes of gold. Probably the breastplate and protective paraphernalia that Witchhunters were famous for. 

The only problem was, Witch hunters were supposed to be a government managed organization, and independent operators weren’t supposed to exist, yet this pair sported the Graves logo on their lapels. It didn’t make sense.

The best thing I could do was avoid the pair. I had no idea how they’d deal with my presence, or condition, and really didn’t want to find out, so I immediately slipped away from my position and headed towards the hotel.

Unfortunately for me, I only got about half way back before I saw the sheriff emerge from his office and head right for the two hunters. Even though I was trying to remain inconspicuous, I couldn’t help but watch the group out of the corner of my eye. The sheriff seemed to show extreme reverence to the two hunters. He gestured towards the jail, then after a second, pointed in my direction.

Every fiber of my being screamed at me to run, or strike at the pair first, but instead I just gripped my pistol, hidden under my coat, and I pretended I didn’t see. I made it another block before a pair of men stepped out of the alley in front of me.

“The boss wants to have a word,” one growled. His partner smiled, showing off his rotten, tobacco stained teeth. 

“I already spoke to your boss this morning,” I said sullenly. 

“Not Anderson, the messengers,” the man replied with a wicked smile as he pointed directly behind me.

My blood went cold, and I turned mechanically. Standing right behind me was one of the Witch Hunters.

A distorted voice echoed out of the mask. “You have been identified as a person of interest, will you submit to testing?” it asked ominously.

“Do I have a choice?” I asked.

“No.” Before I could react the two goons grabbed my arms. If I had been empowered by my magic, I could have possibly prevented it and even got the drop on the hunter, but as I was now I wasn’t even fast enough to draw my pistol before they restrained me. Once I was helpless the witchhunter casually raised a hand and rested it on my forehead.

I felt a pulse flow out of their hand,  flow through my entire being, and back to the device on their wrist. The hunter stared at the device for a moment, then turned away. “Leave her. She’s no coven spy, not enough magic,” they said casually, making their way back towards the jail.

The two toughs frowned, but immediately dispersed. I had a feeling if the command had come from anywhere else they would have tried to rough me up, but they were deathly afraid of upsetting the hunter for some reason. Everyone one was.

As the hunter walked off I rotated my shoulder, trying to loosen up the twisted muscles. I was equally relieved and disappointed that they couldn’t detect my magic. It meant that what I’d feared for months was true, my magic was gone, devoured by an adherent monster while trying to protect the coven. I’d always hoped it would recover, but I hadn’t seen any improvement for months, and found no clue to healing my wounds; That hope was slowly dying.

That didn’t mean I was defenseless. As I turned, and finally made my way into the hotel, I felt something inside me stir. Cold, alien, and craving the deaths of those hunters. Maybe, just maybe, if I found a way to save those kids, it would get it’s way.